


Draft Day

by QuirkyNeon (iforgetlikeanelephant)



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-04-26
Packaged: 2018-06-04 17:56:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6668560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iforgetlikeanelephant/pseuds/QuirkyNeon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve and Bucky comfort each other after receiving Bucky's draft notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Draft Day

**Author's Note:**

> So you know when you're procrastinating writing a story but you start writing another story from the same 'verse and then you end up posting it online? Yeah, that's what this is, my attempt at procrastinating while still outlining my monster of a fic that I haven't actally started writing yet. 
> 
> Any spelling errors are mine and mine alone because I am my own beta lmao

When Steve sees the draft slip in his and Bucky’s mailbox one afternoon in the middle of November ‘42 he thinks first that he’s in luck, that the Army has finally decided that they want Steve Rogers to help fight Nazis.He thinks that the Army must be desperate if the rumors are true, that they’ve actually lowered the draft age, and that must mean that they’re desperate enough to draft someone like him, a 4F that’s tried to sign up on his own anyway. He’s sure enough that it’s for him that when he finally catches sight of the name that’s on the draft slip he drops the stack of mail that he had been holding, straight down the stairs. He’s sure he makes a noise, but he can’t hear it over the muffled hearing that’s taken him over, signalling that he’s one bad breath away from a panic attack. 

He gathers the mail up from the floor in a haze and then somehow makes it back into the apartment, all the mail accounted for including the draft slip with James Buchanan Barnes in large letters, bold as anything. Steve isn’t sure how long he sits on their ragged couch waiting for Bucky to get home, he just knows that as Bucky is walking through the door it’s dark outside of their window and his muscles feel like they haven’t moved in hours. He’s been reading the draft slip over and over, almost has it memorized, and can definitely see it behind his eyelids when he blinks. 

“Hiya Stevie,” Bucky says as he closes the apartment door behind him, his shoulders hunched and heavy from his long day at the docks. “What’s for--What’s got you lookin’ all balled up?” He asks as he catches sight of Steve slouched low on the couch, something clutched in his hand. 

“Buck…” Steve breathes out, his gaze landing heavy on his best guy, “There’s a--you have mail.” 

Bucky freezes at the look on Steve’s face. “What is it?” He asks, “What’s got you so spooked, Stevie?”

Steve holds the slip of paper out between shaking fingers and his grip is so tight that when Bucky goes to grab it the corner rips before he can manage to let go of it. “This…” Steve says quietly as Bucky reads over the slip quietly. 

Bucky sinks to his knees where he’s standing, and Steve slides off the couch so that he’s kneeling on the hard floor as well, his hand going out to grip tightly at Bucky’s shoulder. “Stevie this is...What am I gonna tell my ma? The girls? I can’t go to _war_!” Bucky cries out, his face crumpling as he begins to cry. 

It’s been a long while since Steve has seen Bucky cry, but cry he does, tipping forward to bury his face against Steve’s shoulder as he shakes and crumples the draft notice in his hand. “Shhh, Buck, you’ll be fine. Everything will end up jake, it had to have been a mistake, you won’t have to go to war,” Steve tries to comfort the crying man as he curls one hand around the back of his neck and his other hand curls lightly around the hand that’s holding the draft notice. They sit like that for what seems like hours if Steve pays attention to the pain screaming in his knees before he speaks again, feeling ridiculous even as he says it, “When I first saw it I thought it was for me, I thought they’d finally gotten desperate enough to draft the 4Fs seeing as they lowered the draft age to 18--why do they need to take _kids_ , Buck? Why do they need to take _you_?”

“I don’t want _you_ to go to war either,” Bucky says as he finally sits up and pulls away from Steve, wiping the hand that’s not holding his draft notice over his face, trying to wipe the tear tracks off of his face. “This is fine, it’s all jake, maybe it was just a mistake and they don’t actually want me to go to war maybe I just...maybe they just want me to be on the reserves or something,” Bucky says as he struggles to his feet, his face splotchy with emotion. 

Steve doesn’t know what to say and only manages to shake his head before he climbs to his feet as well, grabbing Bucky by the shoulders. “Whatever happens, happens. I’ll take care of your ma and the girls, no matter what,” Steve says as he gives the taller man a light shake. 

“I know you will, Stevie, and I’m gonna send you all my pay so that you don’t have to worry about trying to hold down a job if you get sick. I’ll talk to the guys down at the docks, see if they have an opening for a desk job before I go,” Bucky says, relishing in the hand that Steve presses to his cheek. “I’ll take care of you and you take care of my girls, that’s all I ask,” he continues as he brings both of his hands up to rest against Steve’s sides, the draft notice crinkling loudly in their cloaked quietness. 

“It’s like I’m a real kept boy,” Steve laughs, trying to ease the tension that’s already forming around Bucky’s eyes.

Bucky smiles but it doesn’t do anything to lighten the look of doom on his face. “You’re older than me, Stevie, so now who’s the kept boy,” he responds, his fingers digging into Steve’s ribs so tightly that he could almost count them if he was paying attention. 

“Still me,” Steve says lightly, “I might be older but who’s the one working hard down at the docks to bring home the money, huh? That’s certainly not me.” Bucky laughs and ducks his head to press his mouth to the pale skin of Steve’s neck, exposed just above his shirt. 

“You’re right, because you’re always right,” Bucky says, mumbling against Steve’s neck and causing the shorter man to shiver slightly. 

“Of course I am,” Steve agrees, going on his tip toes to drape his arms behind Bucky’s head, his fingers going to the short hair on the back of his neck and twisting slightly as Bucky continues to press short kisses to his neck. “Now, let’s go out for dinner, yeah? We can get drinks after and maybe I’ll even let you dance with a few gals,” Steve teases as the two of them finally separate, standing at arm's length, just close enough that Steve’s fingertips are still resting on Bucky’s shoulders. 

“We can’t pretend that this isn’t happening,” Bucky insists as Steve lets his arms drop to his side, “I’m drafted, I’m going to war.”

“I know that,” Steve nearly snarls, no trace of the teasing tone from moments before, “But can you forget for one second that you’re _going_ somewhere and remember that you’re _leaving me_. I just want a nice dinner, and to meet up with our friends, and when you tell them the news I don’t want them to look at me with _pity_ I want them to know that we’ve got all the time in the world to be who we are and _that’s_ why I want to go to dinner. I’m not trying to pretend this isn’t happening, I’m trying to make the time before you leave for training memorable enough that you can take it with you.”

“Steve,” Bucky starts to take a step forward towards him but stops when Steve shoots him a look, “It’s all jake, I’ll come back from training and come back from war and all you have to do is pray for me and tell Ma that I’ll be home soon.” 

Steve wipes a hand over his face and says, “I know, I know you’ll be fine Buck it’s just--you didn’t want this and now you have to go and I did want this and now I’m stuck being the worried housewife.”

“There are worst things to be,” Bucky says gently, reaching out to grab Steve’s hand, “At least I know I’ll always have someone in my corner.”

Steve sniffles and looks away from Bucky, not wanting to cry any more than he already has since he checked the mail. “Of course you will, ‘till the end of the line, Buck, you know that,” Steve says as he squeezes Bucky’s hand and allows himself to be pulled into another hug. 

“I love you,” Bucky says near silently as Steve presses his face to his chest, “And I have to come home because what’s a fella like you supposed ta do without someone like me around.”

Steve laughs wetly against Bucky’s solid chest and rubs his cheek against the rough cotton of his work shirt. “I love you too,” he responds, wrapping his arms around Bucky’s waist and breathing deeply. They have time, Steve thinks, to revel in the small touches and false hopes of a future so bright that it burns everything it touches. He just hopes it doesn’t burn so bright that Bucky’s wings melt and his hubris makes him fall.


End file.
